The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) has issued a statement on the impending fare increase as recommended by the Public Transport Council, stating that the People's Action Party (PAP) has yet again broken its promise made during the General Election 2015 by allowing the cost of living to increase even further amidst a poor economic outlook for Singaporeans.

Below is the statement in full by SDP

The announcement of transport fare increase lays bare the empty rhetoric of the PAP's election promises.

At the lunchtime rally during the 2015 GE, Mr Lee Hsien Loong boldly proclaimed: “The promise is: We will work with you to make Singapore better for you and your children.”

Three years later, he performs yet another about-face by raising public transport fares. The increase is only the latest round of price hikes his administration has piled on Singaporeans since his election pledge.

The other increases include water price by an astounding 30%, carpark fees by 27%, town council S&CC, ERP rates, electricity and gas tariffs, university fees, and kindergarten and childcare centre rates.

Soon to follow will be the introduction of a sugar tax and carbon tax. Not satisfied, the PAP will increase the GST from the current 7% to 9%.

Making the hike even more indefensible is DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam's pre-election promise in February 2015 that “the revenue measures the Government had already undertaken would provide sufficiently for the increased spending planned for till the end of the decade.” (emphasis added)

On top of all this is the fact that the PAP government continues to rack up billions of dollars in its coffers by taking the CPF savings of Singaporeans through the charge of the “cost” of land in HDB sales. Experts have estimated that our reserves may amount to as much as $1 trillion.

With the younger set of PAP ministers lacking courage and know-how in tackling the foreboding challenges that our country faces – including opening up society to fully tap into Singaporeans' creative potential – this country's future is, indeed, bleak.

The only thing that the PAP is competent in is to continue to extract more taxes and fees from the people. This cannot be the way forward as it is a doomed strategy that brings only diminishing returns.

Democracy is best served by having an informed and involved citizenry that has access to a wide range of sources of news and views and an open and vibrant environment in which to share and to debate ideas and opinions.